xkcd

by **UniqueScreenname** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:51 pm UTC

Thread created to practice the speech patterns of the robot Deva. Most significant feature lack of personal pronouns.

Listening to Tool. Also studying. Mixed feelings about this. Will have mixed feelings for next month. Must study continuously until graduation. Must concentrate. Presence on forum means not doing as well as expected.

by **Deva** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:34 pm UTC

Uses personal pronouns when necessary. Depends on the desired interpretation (and on time).

Example conversation:
"Played Hide-and-Seek. What happened to you?"
- "Found me."
(or)
- "Was found."

Accepts either. Avoids overusing the second response. Results in lots of sentences starting with "is" and "was". Encourages varied sentences. Sidesteps both with the optimal "Lost". Took time to think of that, however.

(Edit note: Shies away from personal pronouns too. Usually indicates suboptimal phrasing or an equal phrasing without it.)

by **SlyReaper** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:38 pm UTC

Dog carcass in alley this morning. Tire tread on burst stomach.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:42 pm UTC

Quite saddening. Dead raccoon in road a few weeks ago. Could see its face very clearly. Unusually cute. Stayed there for a week.

by **Mostlynormal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:04 pm UTC

Deva wrote:
Mostlynormal wrote:Should translate some Shakespeare into Devanese. Will help those poor native Devanese speakers who can't read Shakespeare

Prologue of Romeo and Juliet:

Lay our scene in Verona, two houses.
Flares up again. Bloodies civil hands.
Give birth to lovers. Take their life. Stop fighting.
Continued raging. Couldn't stop without children's death.
Listen to our story.
Will try to fill in gaps.

Is just a first stab. What do you think?

Forgot the "Reconjugate the verb to third person singular" step. Only affected some verbs, though. Helps to differentiate imperatives from statements. Preserve the tense, of course.

No large issues besides that. Prefers your version over the original. Maintained good sentence diversity. Recommends replacing the first sentence’s comma with "with" and adding "their" before "children’s death". Avoids contractions, personally. Does not mind that, however.

Was trying to differentiate we/they from he/I. How do you do that?

Provisional Corrections:

Spoiler:

Start of Act 1:

Spoiler:

by **gmalivuk** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:18 pm UTC

UniqueScreenname wrote:Quite saddening.

Else would be, if not Watchmen quote.

by **Deva** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:37 pm UTC

Mostlynormal wrote:Was trying to differentiate we/they from he/I. How do you do that?

Provisional Corrections:
Spoiler:
Lays our scene in Verona with two houses.
Flares up again. Bloodies civil hands.
Gives birth to lovers. Takes their life. Stops fighting.
Continued raging. Couldn't stop without their children's death.
Listen to our story.
Will try to fill in gaps.

Start of Act 1:
Spoiler:
Sampson: Vows not to carry coals.
Gregory: Agrees. Does not want to be a collier.
Sampson: Means, if becomes angry, will draw.
Gregory: Recommends you keep away from the noose.
Sampson: Strikes quickly, if moved to.
Gregory: Is rather slow to move, however.
Sampson: Is moved by a Montague
Gregory:Yes, moving, not standing. Is moving in the opposite direction.
Sampson: Is moved to stand by the Montague. Resolves to push any Montague from the best part of the road.
Gregory:Proves you are weak. Gives the best part to the weakest walkers.
...

Does not distinguish between singular or plural subjects. Hides "nobody" the same as "everybody", additionally. Negates it in a "nobody" situation. Usually. Wants a specific interpretation without the negation.

Dislikes present continuous (see: "is moving"). Tries to phrase around that. Shifts it to present simple (illegally by standard English rules, apparently) sometimes. So, for your translation,

Gregory: Moves rather slow, however.

Depends on the sentence (and verb), probably. Still uses present continuous in hastily-built constructions, though. Forms it quicker than most alternatives. Minds it less in isolated sentences too.

Do not fiddle much with "if" statements. Places them at the end of the sentence, largely intact. Shorten it (within normal English rules), if possible. Applies similar rules for certain verbs. Example of that:
1. "Thinks that is the correct answer." Acceptable, but pushing it.
2. "Thinks so." The preferred option. May not be available, depending on the context.
3. "Appears to be correct." Better than 1. and likely to fit correctly.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:29 pm UTC

What is the structure for questions? Do not know whether the structure changes at all.

by **Deva** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:28 pm UTC

Changes very little. Strives for short questions without first-person pronouns. Switches some questions with first-person pronouns to statements instead.

Example: "Why would I steal the cookies?" into "Would not steal the cookies"

Accepts "Why would they steal the cookies?" and "Would not steal the cookies" approximately equally, however. Depends on the desired response or impression.

by **bling** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:28 am UTC

which country is this language spoken in?

by **Deva** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:29 am UTC

The United States of America.

by **eSOANEM** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:16 am UTC

Would suggest "the fora" is more accurate.

by **Black Dynamite** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:47 pm UTC

Adores Devanese. Desires fluency, if possible.

by **hallux sinister** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:01 am UTC

Unsure how Devanese improves on existing languages or modes of communication. Causes reduced clarity as reader cannot be sure subject or object of sentence or clause.
Why would speak Devanese, except perhaps fun?

by **Deva** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:44 am UTC

Improved with practice. Required more time previously. Thinks without the subject included now (usually). Slows down on brevity and overall interpretation still. Hinders spoken usage.

Wishes to highlight a potential and somewhat unrelated issue. Consider these sentences:
1. "Went on a picnic yesterday. Brought your pie. Ate it, unfortunately."
2. "Went on a picnic yesterday. Brought your pie. Enjoyed it."

May describe the same event. Omitted the ant infestation. Will not guess that, naturally. Cannot rip out subjects and always expect the same interpretation. Must mention the ants somewhere. Leaves its location to personal taste.

Allows you to exclude the ants, also. May not want to divulge that. Worked hard to bake that pie. Views any ant problems as disgraceful. Owns The Big Book of Ant Puns. Extends to situations without ants too. Gave the pie to picnic-loving friends and stayed home. Went with your forbidden lover. Received mixed reviews.

Recommends against doing that too often. Is there when needed, however. Shared something, regardless. Values that.

by **zukenft** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:14 pm UTC

Speech pattern reminds of Mordin Solus. Mass Effect 2. Recommend reading above posts quickly with high voice. Perhaps also add in occasional...inhalation.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:54 pm UTC

Would like to know about the suggestions for the murderers.

by **Deva** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 3:45 pm UTC

Origin: Discussed an icicle as a murder weapon. See: here.

Suggestions: Employ traps. Is not perceptive. Possesses several habits. Recommends involving a cat. Will attempt to pet it. Creates up to fifteen minutes of distraction.

Consider an ambush, also. Lacks physical strength. Does not own any firearms.

Try shelled sunflower seeds. Tastes delicious. (Counts as a person still.)

by **jobriath** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 2:07 pm UTC

Interpreted "suggestions" as suggesting potential murderees. Somewhat less sinister, now. Need no longer be wary of irritating Deva, though.

Would like to express deep appreciation for current thread and Deva both.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 2:54 am UTC

Would not count out murderee suggestions. Response matched my expectations. New interpretation could also be entertaining.

by **superkipple** » Fri May 04, 2012 6:36 pm UTC

Would like to know whether it is appropriate to use "this one" to refer to self or if it defeats the purpose.

by **Deva** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:03 pm UTC

Favors first-person pronouns over "this one". Feels too distant. Works for those who experience that detachment, however. Avoids both either way, ideally.

by **eSOANEM** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:53 pm UTC

superkipple wrote:Would like to know whether it is appropriate to use "this one" to refer to self or if it defeats the purpose.

Thinks superkipple has mistaken Deva for a Khajiit. Understandable. Both feline humanoids. Different species though.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Thu May 10, 2012 3:10 pm UTC

Requests member interview. Wants to know feline humanoid better.

by **jobriath** » Thu May 10, 2012 3:24 pm UTC

Seconds request!

by **Deva** » Thu May 10, 2012 4:01 pm UTC

Declines. Considered it before. Dislikes answering most personal questions. Would pass often.

by **krogoth** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:44 am UTC

Knowtices the similarity of Deva and Roshak speech patterns. Is very slow, unlike them.

by **eSOANEM** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:20 pm UTC

krogoth wrote:Knowtices the similarity of Deva and Roshak speech patterns. Is very slow, unlike them.

Interesting.

Would like to ask Deva what response would be when dead dog found in alley.

by **Deva** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:38 pm UTC

Sad. Belonged to someone (possibly). May never know what happened.

Means one of two situations, also:
1. Drove a motorcycle recklessly. (Cannot easily fit an automobile. Caused wounds too severe for a bicycle.)
2. Killed the dog elsewhere. Moved the body.

(Never read/watched The Watchmen.)

by **bigglesworth** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:17 pm UTC

Book contains details of dogs being killed. Not that one. Foreshadowing.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:40 pm UTC

Is a very thorough mafia player.

by **Deva** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:45 pm UTC

Treats it like an investigation. Begins with nothing. Must gather clues. Asks questions for further information. Hesitates to say more, due to the game in progress.

Results in a tiresome game, however. Recovers during Night phases.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:13 pm UTC

Would imagine that is true. Brain does not allow me to be so thorough.

by **bigglesworth** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:14 pm UTC

Wonders what other favoured games of Deva there are.

by **Deva** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:23 pm UTC

Participated in PYPokemafia and Puella Magi Madoka Mafia also. Lengthens sentences in Mafia games for speed and some specificity. Writes a lot. Saves time.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:37 pm UTC

Thinks he wanted to know what other games you play. (Is ashamed by amount of pronouns in that sentence.)

by **bigglesworth** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:53 pm UTC

Ambiguity. Exists in dialect of English spoken around here too.

by **UniqueScreenname** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:08 pm UTC

Likes that Devanese is considered a dialect now.

by **eculc** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:21 am UTC

Was surprised to find a thread dedicated to devanese.

Hopes that the thread will not die from inactivity. Will try to prevent such an occurrence.

by **BoomFrog** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:39 am UTC

Hopes this works. Not experienced at embedding images.

Spoiler:

Who is online